The focus of the initiative, which is set to launch in June, is to serve as a hub for promoting and coordinating AI research and learning on the campus. It's expected to advance the science of AI while also applying it to problems in health, defense and other sectors; addressing ethical, legal, social and economic implications; and training people to carry out AI-related activities in the state and elsewhere.

"AI is impacting every sector in direct and indirect ways, offering countless opportunities and posing significant challenges that require new and radical approaches — particularly multidisciplinary approaches, which is a focus of this new institute," said Fang in a statement.

Dian Schaffhauser is a senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @schaffhauser.